Dreams Live on
by Quathis
Summary: Naruto prepares his village and his family for the final showdown with Orochimaru.
1. Alert

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto or 'It's Your Love'. This is just for fun and not for profit.

Summary: Sequel to Dream Big. Naruto prepares his village and his family for Orochimaru. Future Fic NaruSaku

**Dreams Live On**

"Hokage-sama, here is the report on Stone Country you asked for," a stoic ANBU handed a scroll to the blond Hokage. The Hokage nodded his thanks and a dismissal to the black ops ninja in the same gesture. The ninja quickly teleported out of the room, as the Hokage's temper was known throughout the Elemental Nations. While slower to anger than in his youth, Uzumaki Naruto still was a force to be reckoned with when he did get mad. The whiskered young man studied the document quickly and let out an angry breath.

"Stupid snake won't learn his lesson," muttered Naruto. He rubbed his forehead and got up from his desk to start pacing around the room, up the walls, and along the ceiling, anywhere his distracted walking would take him. After a few minutes Naruto took a deep breath and went to organize a meeting of his Jounin.

War was coming, and he was going to make sure it happened on his terms and not that treacherous son of a serpent.

* * *

One hour later, all Jounin ranked ninja were gathered in the Hokage's office, waiting for his announcement. Noticeably absent was Jiraiya, who despite being attacked all the time by angry mobs of women actually did gather a lot of useful information for the village. Tsunade stood next to her successor Uzumaki Sakura, with Shizune still right by the side of her Sannin sensei. 

Kakashi was there on time as was his habit since Naruto had become Hokage. Naruto had given Kakashi a choice between being late to meetings with his Hokage, or his ability to enjoy his books would be forever removed. Kakashi wisely decided to show up on time to meetings with Naruto.

The assembled mass turned to an opening door to see their village leader enter the room in his Hokage robes. His face did not have its usual smiling countenance, showing only the serious face of a battle-tried ninja. Naruto walked to his desk and sat down. The room was filling with suspense at what could cause the usually cheerful Hokage to look more like a certain Uchiha that stood near his former teammate.

Naruto cleared his throat and said one simple sentence," I have received information that Orochimaru is coming here with an army of missing ninjas from various villages."

The following silence lasted a full five seconds before a collective scream of, **_"What!?"_** Other outbursts and conversions started all around the group, raising the tension and volume with every passing comment. Naruto let this go for a few minutes to let them get it out of their system before going into details on their plans.

When it became apparent that it would take awhile, Naruto checked to see if anyone was watching and casually drew a scroll from his pocket. A bit of chakra and presto, fresh Ichiraku ramen, kept warm and ready in a special stasis scroll Naruto developed for quick and easy meals. The Rokudaime silently ate his treat while observing his ninja. He finished in time to see his wife having a heated discussion with Tsunade.

'_Better finish this before they come to blows again, I just had the walls repaired.' _Naruto thought to himself. He coughed to get everyone's attention. Once all eyes were back on him, Naruto released a calming aura upon the assembled mass to settle their nerves. He could feel shoulders being relaxed and the slowing of breath throughout the room. When he was satisfied he could have a productive planning session, Naruto took a breath and began to fill the Jounins in on the other details he knew.

"We know that Orochimaru is coming to launch a full assault upon us with ninjas who have been exiled from their respective villages, ranging from many Chunin ranked and a few dozen Jounin ranked shinobis. There are also three S-class missing ninjas aside from Orochimaru and Kabuto. They are Tanaka Yoshiro of Iwa, Mitaga Ryuuga of Kumo, and Hanashi Tsuba of Kiri.

"Reports indicate that the army is currently in Stone country moving towards Konoha at a steady pace. By our best guess, they'll be at our gates within a week." Naruto stopped here to take a breath and let the info settle in the minds of his listeners.

The prediction caused several rookie Jounin to be terrified, due to the prospect of facing an large army with five S-class shinobis, two of which were well known to the Leaf ninjas. Of course, they hadn't been told that their Hokage was on a level beyond any S-class ninja in the current Bingo Book, and that most of the Konoha Twelve (made up of the original Rookie Nine and Team Gai) were all high A-class to S-class in their respective fields of study. Plus they had two retired Sannin and the Copy-Cat Ninja Sharingan Kakashi on their side. In terms of powerful Shinobi, the odds were not lopsided against Konoha.

However, numbers could be a problem after the many encounters with Akatsuki and Orochimaru's old Sound village. Many ANBU and Jounin had perished in the repeated conflicts. Many Jounin in the room had been recently promoted to help train the younger generation as quickly as possible. This idea also included harder Academy exams and hasher Genin training. Naruto knew that some extra training early on could make all the difference.

A stern stare by Naruto silenced the newbies, and continued with his announcement. "I don't intend to ever allow them to get near the gates of our home. I propose we take the fight to them on a battle field on our choosing away from civilians and our families." Naruto and Sakura shared a look at this, both thinking of their three kids at home. "Suggestions?"

He was greeted with silence for oh about a minute, and then the chaos of a planning session got into full swing as a battle plan was hammered out.

* * *

The former Team 7 were walking towards The Hokage Mansion, discussing everything and anything other than the upcoming battle. Sasuke would occasionally glance at the couple thinking of his own bachelor status. 

He was glad they were happy together, really he was.

The last loyal Uchiha just couldn't stop himself from asking "what if?" And it made him feel like he was betraying some promise that he couldn't remember making which frustrated him all the more with the situation.

Naruto glanced at his silent brother, and had to let out a sigh. "Sasuke, what do you think about the battle plan?"

Sasuke knew Naruto wasn't asking for approval because the blond knew that his raven-haired friend would stand by him through anything. He wanted his honest input on the matter. "Well, any plan Shikamaru makes has a great chance of succeeding." The ANBU Captain paused for a moment and continued,"We have greater quality of ninja with us, and I know that there are many Genins who could help with the mopping up."

Nobody spoke for awhile until Sakura decided to change the subject. That and try and get Sasuke to blush which was still quite difficult.

"So Sasuke, gone on any dates recently?" was the medic nin's innocent response.

Sasuke just looked at the woman like she had lost her pink-covered noggin. They all knew that Sasuke had _never _gone on a date. As a child, he was too obsessed with revenge to consider the opposite sex. As an adult, his guilt over his actions kept him from socializing with anyone new, and all the women he knew didn't have any interest in him.

"No? Well I think it's about time you actually try to meet someone new. You're not going to restore your clan without meet a few new ladies." Naruto noticed that his wife was using the same tone with Sasuke that she used when she wanted the kids to do something.

Sasuke just looked at her and his wide eyes were enough to communicate his feelings on the matter. Sakura just stared right back with a challenging glint in her eye for a moment before her features softened.

"Sasuke, why don't at least give it a shot? If I had never let a certain blond jounin get close, then three little angels wouldn't be here now." Sakura smiled at the end.

Sasuke took on a contemplative expression for a moment thinking about said children. Thinking about them usually filled some of the emptiness in his bruised yet healing heart. Before he had met Naruto and Sakura's kids he acted much like when he was younger, though for different reasons. Aloofness had always been his most visible trait.

Naruto's kids changed that. Naruto and Sakura liked to have a date once a week away from the kids and the pressures of their respective jobs. Sasuke had volunteered to baby-sit for them if they ever needed it. At first they thought it was just his way of repaying his self-imposed debt to the two of them. Then they found that Sasuke actually enjoyed the random, chaotic, and fun world of children. From then on, whenever Sasuke didn't have a mission, he was the one they called.

So was the case tonight. Since bad things happen in wars, the Hokage and Chief Medic Ninja wanted a night to themselves, and Sasuke was again happy to oblige them.

"Sasuke-ojisan!!" three high-pitched squeals of delight came from the Hokage mansion. It was evident that the kids enjoyed their Uchiha baby-sitter's company as much as he enjoyed theirs, though he could have done without being tackled to the ground in a big group hug.

"Okay kids, that's enough. Let Sasuke-ojisan off the hard ground. You don't want him to break do you?" asked a smiling Naruto.

"Don't you have somewhere to be?" half-growled the fallen shinobi.

"Oh Sasuke, I'm hurt. Some people might think that you don't enjoy my company," a wounded sounding Naruto placed a hand over his heart with an aggrieved expression. The smile never left his face as he gave Sasuke a hand up.

"Who says that I do?" Sasuke smirked back at his blond friend. Naruto just frowned a bit, and quickly let out a laugh.

"Glad to see you have some sort of sense of humor, Sasuke. You were worrying me for a bit," Naruto's fox grin was in full force on his face as he said this.

"Get going you two. I get things on this end," Sasuke actually smiled at his nieces and nephew. "I think that we can take care of ourselves for a few hours."

"Thanks jerk, take care." the happy tone conflicting with his words.

"Have fun with your wife, Idiot" the cheerful response got a laugh out the kids. They thought their Daddy and Sasuke-ojisan's way of talking was funny.

"Oh Sasuke, don't think that we're done talking about you getting your own," grinned Sakura at her childhood crush.

'_Dang I was hoping that she would forget about it. Oh well, that's a worry for another day," _thought a happy Uchiha Sasuke as three little balls of energy dragged him off to play.

* * *

Atop the Hokage Tower, sat Naruto and his loving (if occasionally violent) wife sat, eating a dinner prepared by Sakura that morning. Just another emergency meal stored in a stasis stroll for those times Naruto or herself has to work and can't get a decent meal. There wasn't any ramen, but Naruto wisely didn't say anything about it. The last time he did that, Sakura punched him down to the sub-basement of the Hokage Tower.

From the top floor.

Even Naruto can take that kind of hint.

Sakura looked at her husband and could only smile at the child-like enthusiasm with which he devoured his food. He took her back to their friendly chunin days where she had yet to develope romantic feelings for her blond teammate. Her foxy love could make her feel like a teenager again when he did that.

The reason he tried so hard was because they both knew she would die long before the shinigami ever thought about going after Naruto. An incident with the Kyuubi forever changed the relationship between jailer and jailed.

It happened shortly after they were married. The Kyuubi made a move to escape his prison by paying off Naruto's anger and frustration. A battle of titanic wills resulted in all of Kyuubi's chakra being purified and absorbed by Naruto through a secondary seal placed on the foxes' prison. It had nearly killed the young man, and he had been in a coma for two weeks.

When he woke up, he informed them that the seal was now complete and Kyuubi wasn't going to bother them any longer. Naruto took great pride in telling them the "Great Furball, Lord of the Lint Trap" was going to end with him.

Multiple tests done by Tsunade, Shizune, and Sakura showed that Naruto was immortal in a very real sense. His aging was halted by the purified demon chara and his healing abilities were only going to increase with time. For just a second he looked pleased by the news, then he looked at Sakura and his eyes changed from pleased to pained.

Naruto had realized that he wasn't going to grow old with his wife. Later there was more to add on the subject.

Further testing showed that Naruto could have children (happily), and that the genes he would pass on would be normal (good for them) but that meant they too would die long before their father did (bad for him). It hit the family centered shinobi hard.

Staying true to his character, Naruto didn't let it get him down. He promised to spend every moment he could with his wife and children. He promised to make every moment count, and Uzumaki Naruto always kept his word.

The reason no one outside of Naruto and the three medics realized that Naruto had stopped aging was a special seal(since his genjutsu skill were horrible) that he had developed with Tsunade's help that made his body act like it was aging, to the point of him feeling his age. Unfortunately, the seal couldn't cause Naruto's death; it merely caused him to appear and feel like he was aging. The current plan was for Naruto to live out a natural life here, leave once Sakura passed on, and leave Konoha until he was needed again.

But Sakura didn't want to think about such unpleasant things. She wanted to enjoy this moment in time with the man she loved more than anything. That's when Sakura's eyes found a certain scroll pouch on Naruto's vest. Sakura smiled as she realized what she wanted from her husband.

"Naruto, could you play me _our _song?" Naruto nearly choked on his food at the emotion in his precious person's voice. He looked over at her slowly and swallowed the remaining food in his esophagus and nodded with his signature smile threatening to break his face in two.

"Your wish is my command, fair lady," Naruto complemented his words with a low showman's bow. With a flourish, the scroll containing his guitar came out, and the wooden instrument was brought forth. Sakura enjoyed the small show that Naruto was giving her. It was just so like him to do more than necessary for something. At least now he didn't go overboard on almost everything.

After checking his instrument to make sure it was still tuned correctly, he began to strum out the chords beginning the song that had become their song.

_Dancin' in the dark, middle of the night  
Takin' your heart and holdin' it tight  
Emotional touch, touchin' my skin  
And asking you to do what you've been doin' all over again  
Oh its a beautiful thing, don't think I can keep it all in  
I just gotta let you know what it is that won't let me go_

At this point, Sakura joined in singing along with her beloved.

It's your love it just does something to me  
It sends a shock right through me  
I can't get enough and if you wonder about the spell I'm under,  
oh it's your love

Sakura stopped and watched enchanted by the emotions on Naruto's face.

_  
Better than I was, more than I am  
And all of this happen by taking your hand  
And who I am now is who I wanted to be  
And now that we're together  
I'm stronger than ever I'm happy and free  
_

Again, Sakura joined in and sang with the same emotions on her face that Naruto was still showing.

_  
Oh it's a beautiful thing, don't think I can keep it all in  
If you asked me why I've changed, all I gotta do is say your sweet name  
It's your love it just does something to me it, sends a shock right through me  
I can't get enough and if you wonder about the spell I'm under,  
It's your love  
If you wonder about the spell I'm under,  
Oh, It's your love _

Oh it's a beautiful thing, don't think I can keep it all in  
I just gotta let you know what it is that won't let me go

Naruto leaned over and almost whispered the next lines to his now blushing bride.

_It's your love it just does something to me it, sends a shock right through me  
_

_I can't get enough and if you wonder about the spell I'm under  
Oh it's your love  
It's your love  
It's your love  
It's your love_

* * *

Naruto and Sakura, long finished with their meal, sat atop their high hiding place enjoying the setting sun. Blue chakra could be seen coming from their bodies as it danced and mingled together in the fading sunlight.

No words were spoken aloud. The mingling of their chakras opened emotional gateways and the couple could feel the love, peace, and contentment in their spouse. It was one of their ways of never letting themselves feel in a rut, as their emotions were always changing and shifting.

It took a great deal of control to initiate and maintain, but the benefits far outreached the costs.

* * *

When the sun finally departed for the day, Naruto and Sakura teleported back to their house. Finding everything in order, Sakura went up to make sure the kids were in bed, as it was still a school night for Haruka. Sasuke came out of the bathroom shortly after she went up the stairs.

"Did they give you any trouble?" the time honored question for any babysitter.

"Other than keeping Kora from following her brother and sister up the walls, no. Did you have to teach them wall walking at their age?" a rather common response from the Uzumaki's baby-sitter.

"Well, they seem to have inherited my capacity for stamina, and you know how hard I had to work at that when I was a genin. Figured it would be better to start young. Besides, it's one more thing to help them out if they get into trouble," the standard reply.

"Naruto, they're your kids. Trouble will follow them like a lost puppy," the familiar banter easing the minds of the two men.

"They sure grow up fast don't they? Sometimes it seems that Haruka was born just a little bit ago," the smile on Naruto's face was small but content.

Sasuke looked at the man who was his brother in all but the paperwork. He felt the same way. He still remembered the first time he had seen tiny baby Haruka.

_Flashback_

_Sasuke sat in the Hokage's office still a shocked that Naruto had reached Hokage at the young age of nineteen. While Gaara had gotten it at a younger age, he had the village council on his side. Naruto fought an uphill battle the whole way up to this position. Sasuke let a smirk form as he considered that the "dead last" of their academy years was now the most powerful ninja in the village. _

_The dark haired young man had only a brief moment of warning before a swirl of wind announced the arrival of the newest Hokage. What he saw shocked him more than a little. _

_"Hey Sasuke, you been waiting long?" the grinning face of his forgiving friend was not what shocked the Uchiha, rather the little bundle in his arms. Sasuke could make out light pink hair peaking out the top and wondered why Naruto had brought his newborn into a room with a man who had tried to kill him more than once._

_"No? Good, Sakura needed me to watch Haruka while she helped teach a medical class at the Academy." Naruto seemed oblivious to his formal rival's discomfort. He had brought his first born so Sasuke could see her. Sakura was against the recently returned shinobi seeing the child before. Her memory was a bit longer on remembering attempted assassinations done by their former teammate._

_"Would you like to see her?" Naruto's easy sounding question further shocked the Uchiha. Such a sign of trust from Naruto shouldn't have surprised him to such a degree had Sakura not make it clear that he had a long way to go before he was back in her good graces._

_"I don't think Sakura would appreciate me being so near her offspring," Sasuke tried a diplomatic out that was blatantly ignored by Naruto._

_"Oh come on, you're just going to look at her. That's not going to hurt her is it?" Naruto wasn't one to be deterred once he set his sights on something. His courting of Sakura was case in point. Most men would have stopped chasing the girl after the first few years and/or broken bones, not to mention the broken hearts._

_Sasuke, recognizing the futility of resisting, walked over to the proud father and peered down at the bundle in his arms. The baby was indeed a sight, and if he had been someone else, the Uchiha would have called her cute. The tiny features of her face resembled her mother's greatly, yet there was still enough of her father there to make the connection. _

_"Adorable, isn't she?" Naruto's question was met with the expected silence of one long used to dealing with brooding ninjas. When Sasuke pulled away from the baby, a chunin poked his head in the room and told the Hokage he was needed somewhere._

_Sasuke was again surprised when Naruto asked him to hold the baby while he dealt with the issue. Naruto's response to his hesitance was, as always, to the point._

_"I trust you Sasuke."_

_How could he not show if he was worthy of that trust? He held the baby like Naruto had shown him and sat in a chair by the desk. To Sasuke, time seemed to pass uncomfortably slowly. Five minutes was near an eternity in his mind. Nothing had happened for those five minutes, and Sasuke figured that Naruto would be back soon from his errand._

_After that thought passed through his head, Haruka woke up and had opened her eyes. Looking curiously at the unfamiliar face, her pale green eyes seemed so large and innocent. It didn't seem natural that anything could be so trusting or pure. On a whim, Sasuke called on his Sharingan to observe the infant. _

_There was chakra present, as there was in everybody, but she had more than most young children he had seen. It didn't surprise him too much since her dad had almost unlimited stamina. The thing that caught his attention was that he couldn't detect any fear or distrust in the child. Nor was there any awe or joy in her expression. The child didn't seem to judge him in any manner that he was used to. _

_For a moment, Sasuke felt he had something that he had never had in his life- a blank slate. No expectations, no fangirls, no rivalry, no need to impress anyone, and no need to be anything else than himself. It was a liberating feeling. Time stood still for a man with a dark past and the child with a most certainly bright future. _

_But time moves forward and Naruto came back sooner than Sasuke now hoped. Naruto was pleasantly surprised when Sasuke said that if he needed someone to watch her again, he'd be willing._

_Naruto just smiled and told him that would be fine. Then they got down to the business that Sasuke was there for._

_End Flashback_

While the girl was older now, and she did have certain expectations of him, but he had put them there. He was able to be something other than what everyone else thought he was. If he acted like he did in public, she would set him straight without any worrying. He knew he was different because of her.

Naruto's other children had changed him as well, in different ways, but his oldest had opened his heart to the change. Now, he felt like he had a real family again, family he would die to protect.

Naruto looked at Sasuke and smiled. His brother was at peace, and Naruto knew that in the next couple of days, that peace would sustain him. In the same way that Naruto's own night with Sakura would sustain him. Naruto had a good feeling about the coming battle.

* * *

Author notes: Due to the nice comments given for Dream Big, I decided to flesh out the world around it and write a sequel. If it does well, I'll write more on it. Most likely as other stories instead of chapters of the same one. 

Please tell me what you think, anything I may have gotten wrong, and pretty much anything else. Negativity does not give to creativity, only takes it away. Next chapter will be up next week.

Hasta la proxima.


	2. Preparations

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This is just for fun.

Summary: Sequel to Dream Big. Naruto prepares his village and his family for Orochimaru. Future Fic NaruSaku

**Dreams Live On**

There are few things that make Uzumaki Naruto really upset. One is lack of hot ramen, especially miso flavored. Another is the Snake Sannin, Orochimaru, who had caused a lot of grief in Naruto's life. The last one would be unnecessary paperwork that keeps him away from his friends and family.

The last reason was why the blond Hokage could be seen in his office glaring spitefully at several large stacks of paperwork given to him by the village council. Even though he was Hokage and had saved their ungrateful behinds more than once, they still did all in their meager power to cause him grief. War meant lots of paperwork, and the Hokage needed to take care of it, even if he had many other things he would rather be doing.

Fortunately for the young ninja, he had changed from the bullheaded yet brave boy of his youth to a collected, cunning, and resourceful adult. After glancing around and checking for surveillance of any sort, Naruto smiled and performed a series of hand-seals ending with his favorite cross-shaped seal.

"Kage bushin no jutsu, Clerk Style!" Naruto whispered to keep his special modification to himself. If anyone found out about it, they would give him even more useless paperwork to fill out. Four of his special clones appeared and a moment later five regular shadow clones 'poofed' into existence.

The only visible difference between the regular kage bushins and the clerk style ones were the large, nerdy glasses that each wore. This was an example of Naruto's strange sense of humor about himself, which even his wife had a hard time understanding.

The clerk style kage bushins were Naruto's primary weapon against paperwork. The regular kage bushins could read and write like Naruto could, and then send the information to the original after the fact. The clerk style kage bushins had an active link with the original which allows for greater accuracy in discerning the papers he should and shouldn't sign, also giving the kage bushins greater intuitive ability.

As usual, the village council had slipped in retirement papers for the Rokudaime. Naruto accidentally signed one before he had perfected the clerk style kage bushins. He then used a wind enhanced rasengan to shred the treacherous parchment (Sakura had made him read some books to improve his vocabulary).

There was no need for words as they began to attack the paperwork with the regular kage bushins acting as aids, holding and removing paper that had been signed or dismissed. Nothing was missed in this process, and the time needed to finish the enormous pile was a tenth of the usual hours of tedious drudgery.

With his duties fulfilled, Naruto got up and admired his village through the windows in his high office. It was an excellent view that allowed him to see and observe most of the daily activities of his home. Times had been rough on Konoha, but there were many improvements to counteract the hardships.

First, the medical facilities of the Village Hidden in the Leaves were the best in all the Elemental nations. Tsunade had changed things during her tenure as Hokage to fulfill her ambitions regarding ninja medical training. This had increased the health of the average citizen as well as the ninja population. Books on health were available to everyone, and the young girls were encouraged to see the sections on proper dieting, seeing what happened with the Uchiha fan girls.

Second, Konoha had almost no crime within its walls. Every ninja, from genin to jonin, had a responsibility to help maintain law and order within the city. That makes for a lot of deputies wondering around keeping an eye on things.

The third improvement hit close to home with Naruto. Orphans, widows/widowers, and the homeless had means to better themselves that the blond would have loved to have had as an orphaned child. Naruto didn't believe in handouts to people; he had seen that it just makes people lazy. Children became apprentices to civilians during their early years to prepare them for later in life. This also increased the number of children being adopted, since more people had the opportunity to get to know them.

A fourth improvement would have to be the dismantling of the ROOT organization. Danzo's treacherous plans were bested by the loyal Konoha ninja, but many losses came from the conflict. Naruto's teammate Sai was one who died, along with several other ninja. It had taken much to restore the faith of the people in their protectors after that event, but they had restored it.

The last thing that really helped the village was the alliance with Suna. An exchange program had been set up and many ninjas had gone between the two villages. It helped increase skill levels on all ranks of both Suna and Konoha. It also added the mission requests for all and that really helped to keep the peace. There were also relationships starting between ninjas of the two villages, though it had still not reached the marriage stage.

However, Naruto knew that Konoha was far from perfect. His childhood was a perfect example of that imperfection, and he didn't want anyone to feel pain like that if he could do anything about it. Overall, things were looking up for the Village Hidden in the Leaves.

Naruto sighed contentedly as he appreciated the view, and didn't even look at the door when his secretary knocked and after no initial response, peeked inside. Seeing her boss finished with paperwork, she calmly addressed the content man.

"Sir, Tsunade-sama is here to see you," Naruto nodded, still without looking at her. The young lady sighed and opened the door to let the former Hokage to enter.

"Hey brat, you got any sake? Jiraiya got back today and he is already up to his old tricks," the loud voice of the Godaime didn't faze the Rokudaime.

"Right bottom drawer, focus some chakra into the top right corner and say 'breaktime'," his calm response was both soothing and irritating to the older woman as she followed his instructions.

"So that's how you do it. I never could figure out how to open that drawer," the retired medic kunoichi looked quite pleased at this new discovery of the desk that she had sat in for about six years. Naruto wasn't about to mention what had been in the drawer before he put in sake for her visits (it kept her from being punch-happy). The Sandaime had kept his _personal_ collection of books given to him by his student Jiraiya.

"How are the kids doing?" there was an undeniable smirk at this question. The former Hokage was still close to Naruto and his family, and had grown to adore the three rugrats that he and her former pupil had made together. Now, Tsunade found that she didn't mind the title of Tsunade-obaachan quite so much.

"They're doing well. You know it's been awhile since you visited, and Arashi in particular misses you," the boy in fact had asked repeatedly when his obaa-chan was going to visit. He mentally shrugged thinking that's what happens when you spoil a kid rotten with misplaced maternal instincts.

"Things have been busy making sure the Academy teachers don't mess up the medical training I got started there. If Hinata were still able to teach, I would be able to enjoy my retirement." The older women paused a moment and looked at her successor," How is she doing? I haven't talked to her since she told me of her engagement two months ago."

Naruto's face seemed to want to cry and smile happily at the same time. "She's fine. She barely had time to come to the meeting yesterday; planning for a wedding is harder than planning for a battle."

"Does she still have a grudge against the Hyuuga clan?" Tsunade knew this was a sensitive subject with Naruto and didn't want to upset him too much.

"As a whole, yes, though she still regards her father, sister Hanabi, and cousin Neji as family. Even if she is no longer a member of the Hyuuga clan, the rest don't really respect her the way they should." One of his promises that had yet to be completed was the reformation of the Hyuuga clan. Even if he had the help from its Head, Heiress, and prodigy, there were too many fools clinging to the past to change everything at the present moment. The caged bird seal had been removed from any Branch Hyuuga who became ninja; Naruto said the Hokage shouldn't allow such a weakness in his ninja. That still left many non-ninja Branch members with the foul seal (no pun intended).

"Her father? I thought they didn't get along at all," Tsunade hadn't liked Hyuuga Hiashi much when she heard how he treated his eldest daughter. Kurenai had relayed the conversation she had with Hiashi when Hinata entered the Academy.

"Hiashi didn't know how to raise a daughter after he lost his wife, but he tried the best he could. I still don't agree with his methods, but . . . I know he loves both his daughters very much. That's why he asked me to marry Hinata."

Tsunade spit out the sake she had been drinking, and after coughing a little, glared at the grinning young man seated across from her. "You never told me about _that_. You got some explaining to do brat."

"Right after I broke things off with Hinata, Hiashi came to my house in the middle of the night to talk about her. He seemed angry at me and more than a little scared," Naruto felt the need for ramen at this point and pulled out his stasis scroll with his blessed snack. After savoring the scent of his ramen, Naruto began to eat while continuing with his story.

"Well, after explaining to him that while I did care deeply for Hinata and loved her as a friend, I didn't feel the love a man should feel for his wife. That's when he told me that Hinata was going to get the caged bird seal if she didn't get married soon. I got mad, and demanded that he do something.

"I swear I almost saw him cry right there. He said he had tried, but the Hyuuga council had stood firm on the issue. They saw her as a weak Hyuuga and should be made a Branch member as soon as possible. He practically begged me to marry her, to save her from the sealing. I cared about Hinata, yes, but I couldn't in good conscious marry a person who I didn't love in that way.

"Hiashi started to shout that I was condemning her to a life of slavery under individuals who openly hated her. He asked me if my convictions were worth her suffering. I asked if his honor was worth her living with a man who thought of her more like a sister than a lover.

"We didn't come to an agreement that night, but I did think about what he said and I couldn't leave a person as precious as Hinata in a situation like that. So the next night I snuck into the Hyuuga compound and met Hiashi and said there was a way that both of our consciences could be clear."

"That's when you decided to adopt Hinata into the Uzumaki clan," Tsunade stated this more than asked it.

Naruto nodded," We talked with Hinata, and she agreed it was for the best. She knew how I felt about her and she also saw that her father did care for her, giving her a chance at freedom from the clan. He and I still talk when we have the time. Only he, Hanabi, and Neji will be representing the Hyuuga clan at the wedding. Since Hinata is legally an Uzumaki under my protection, the Hyuuga council has no say on the matter. Even if Hinata is going to marry the Fire Daimyo's nephew, only the invited can attend." Naruto's satisfied smile spoke volumes as to how he felt about that.

"I still can't believe that shy Hinata caught the attention of such a rebel. I understand he hasn't married yet, because 'no woman could hold his interest for long.' I guess having us as family changed her for the better, eh?" Tsunade smirked at her 'little brother' as he just laughed.

"He's a good match for her, and she'll keep him from becoming a nuisance to us later on. I am glad that of her 'brothers' I was the one who got to test him," Naruto's smile was wide as he said this.

The aforementioned young man was an elite samurai who knew how to use his sword in ways that most ninja could never hope to achieve. He even lasted longer than Naruto originally thought he would in a spar, even if Naruto took it easy on him. Takashi was his name and he and Hinata had met at a state function at the capital when Hinata was acting as liaison with the Fire Daimyo's court.

Through their conversations, it was discovered that they had much in common:

They were both from famous families that didn't agree with their respective hobbies, medicine for Hinata and mercenary work for Takashi.

They were outside of the mold of their families.

And the most shocking thing they had found in common was that they both had kidnapping attempts made on them.

Without the confining rules of the Hyuuga, Hinata began to see Takashi on a regular basis. Their wedding was going to happen in a few months, time enough for the women of both families to prepare everything. Tsunade and Sakura were always arguing about going traditional or making a new ceremony. Hinata was truly swamped with people trying to "help." Naruto just gave her a place she could go for some peace and quiet.

Hinata was currently with her fiancé, who was in Konoha on an errand for his uncle. Takashi had asked to be part of the first assault group alongside Hinata. Naruto had allowed it on his word to get the job done with no showboating during battle. In truth, his aid was welcome, as he would be a great help against the swordsman of the Mist Orochimaru had in his troops.

Tsunade took a long sip of sake from her cup and admired the pride Naruto had in his adopted sister. They and the rest of the Konoha twelve had worked to get her to realize her full potential. Hinata was one of the best apothecary medics Tsunade had ever met, and the younger women could make powerful medicines that had helped save many lives in the Leaf Village.

That line of thought brought the Slug Sannin back to her original purpose for visiting the current Hokage. "You know Orochimaru will be tough to take out. He's a survivor."

Naruto sighed as his smile slipped away and threw his empty ramen container into the garbage. His eyes told Tsunade that he indeed knew and didn't like it. "That Snake knows how to sacrifice everyone around him to save his own skin, and most of his followers in the past did it so willingly that we've suffered many casualties trying to take him out."

"You ready for the attack then? It's not going to be easy for us you know." Tsunade looked at the man who she considered a little brother and could see the weight his position put on him.

The weight of office seemed to fall from his shoulders and it seemed the semi-innocent little prankster she had first met was grinning widely at her. It amazed her how he seemed to mature so much, yet keep enough of his boyish nature to charm people.

"Why Tsunade, I have just the plan to get Orochimaru. After all, the Fox is more cunning than the Snake. The Snake just slithers away before the Fox can get his claws into him. The Fox just needs to trap the Snake to finish it," the glint in his eyes seemed playful and vengeful at the same time.

Naruto called to his secretary and asked her to have Sakura, Anko, and Jiraiya come to his office as soon as they could. There was more planning that needed to be done to get the trap ready.

The secretary of the Kazekage was much like the secretary of the Hokage in that they have learned to deal with their respective bosses' eccentric behavior. However, they haven't gotten used to their bosses' friends appearing out of thin air asking to see him. Such was the case when Naruto stopped by Suna for a quick visit to his friend Gaara.

"Is Gaara in?" Naruto's prankster nature could still be witnessed at moments like these. Unfortunately, their was no one to appreciate this little prank on his friend's secretary, as she had passed out from the appearance of a smiling Hokage who somehow appeared in her room where no other ninja could was able to teleport into. She apparently didn't know that Naruto had a special long distance teleportation seal (similar to the seal used in Hiraishin) hidden in this room.

When the woman didn't look like she would wake up soon, Naruto just knocked on the door himself. After a faint invitation to enter could be heard, Naruto opened the door and walked casually in the Kazekage's office. Gaara seemed to be fighting his own battle against a much smaller pile of paperwork than Naruto had faced that morning.

The former vessel of Shukaku looked at his friend and sighed," Will my secretary be able to work the rest of the day?" Naruto's somewhat sheepish grin was explanation enough. "So, why did you come in person? My brother and his girlfriend already gave me the report on what's going on."

Naruto's smile faded a moment before he took three near identical scrolls from his jonin vest. "The contents of these scrolls could decide the outcome of the battle with Orochimaru. I need you to safeguard them till this is over. If there is the slightest hint of danger to this, burn the scrolls. I have a way to find them afterwards."

Gaara's face showed little emotion as he asked a rather obvious question," If you don't need the scrolls, than why have them in the first place?"

"Convenience. It takes time for the other way to work, so the scrolls are much faster," Naruto answered his fellow Kage.

Gaara took the scrolls and a tendril of sand came out of his gourd, enveloped the scrolls and went back into the gourd. Naruto let out a sigh of relief. That was one more thing taken care of.

"Please tell Tenten and Kankuro to get back soon, we'll need all the help we can get when things get dicey," Naruto asked his friend.

"Okay, they'll be back in Konoha by tomorrow. I'm going to send some stuff with them to give to Temari and her boyfriend. Hopefully the current one won't break her heart like the last one," Gaara had the look many brothers had when thinking about their sisters' beaus, which wasn't much different than the look he used to get when his demon got the better of him. Naruto made a mental note to keep Shikamaru away from Suna for the rest of his life.

"Thanks, I'll be back when this is all over. Hey, you want to come visit after we lay ol' Snakeskin out to dry?" Naruto's cheer was becoming infectious as Gaara felt a small smile to grace his battle-hardened face. The Kazekage just nodded and turned back to his work. Naruto left with a shake of his head.

Before leaving the desert of the Wind Country, Naruto stopped on a dune and took out a large empty glass bottle from yet another scroll on his person. After filling the bottle with sand, Naruto looked towards Konoha with a blank expression on his face. If anyone had been around to witness the event, they would have noticed the glowing determination in his sapphire eyes.


	3. Worries

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This is just for fun.

Summary: Sequel to Dream Big. Naruto prepares his village and his family for Orochimaru. Future Fic NaruSaku

**Dreams Live On**

Two days had past since Naruto had gone to Suna and back in the same afternoon. He was now at the breakfast table with Sakura enjoying the first quiet morning they've had since Haruka was born.

The kids were in the care of someone they trusted to watch over them, away from Konoha and the fighting that was coming. If Orochimaru got them, he could and would use them against Naruto and his people.

Sakura had made a nice breakfast of cheese omelet, ham, rice, and orange juice. While she did like traditional food, her favorites were of the modern variety. Naruto was happily digging into the meal when he noticed Sakura's worried expression.

"Don't worry Sakura, they'll be fine. We've done everything we can to make sure they're safe," Naruto said in an attempt to calm his wife. When he didn't get any response, Naruto raised his eyebrows and noticed that she wasn't really looking at anything. _'This calls for desperate measures.'_

Sakura's head jerked to an explosion of sound where the tell tale smoke of a Henge no Jutsu was present. Apprehension gripped as she considered what image her prankster husband had taken. As the smoke cleared, a large drop of sweat appeared on the back of her head when she couldn't find Naruto.

"What's wong pwetty lady?" Sakura's headwhipped around to the child-like voice. She saw a chibi version of Naruto with large watery eyes and cute little fox ears on the top of his head. He looked worried and lost. It also reminded her of when her son had asked for a puppy.

Sakura looked at him for a minute, trying to stop her smile from forming. She lost it when the chibi's lower lip began to tremble. She started giggling like a maniac before wrapping her transformed husband in a hug. He released the illusion and returned the hug, as the giggling grew to full out laughter.

After the laughter had subsided, the Hokage held his beloved silently, giving the worried mom a chance to pull herself together. Over the years, Sakura had "instructed" Naruto in the ways of etiquette and protocol (meaning she pounded his head whenever he got it wrong). He had learned when to be quiet, and when to just hold his precious person.

As Sakura got a hold of herself, she whispered a quiet thank you. Naruto just kept on holding her, but he began to sway back and forth in a silent dance. The blond man held the pink haired woman in a strong yet tender embrace.

Sakura felt safe in her husband's arms and just enjoyed having all of his attention for that moment.

Unfortunately, few things last long in this life and two ANBU appeared in the dining room with their masked faces looking at the ground (there had been a few _awkward_ moments from these surprise visits).

"Hokage-sama, our scouts report that Orochimaru is a little more than a day away Konoha," the ANBUs' gaze never left the floor.

Naruto sighed and reluctantly let go of Sakura and turned to his subordinates. The happy-go-lucky husband changed to the authoritative Hokage and gave instructions to gather the Twelve.

Once they were gone, Naruto looked at his Cherry Blossom and offered her a sad smile. She nodded and they both went to prepare for battle.

* * *

Within fifteen minutes, the infamous Konoha Twelve had assembled themselves inside of Naruto's office, with a few additions. Takashi, Temari, and Kankuro were also present with their significant others.

Sakura, standing strong next to Naruto, took a moment to look at their friends and consider how far they'd all come from the first Chunin exams. Two of the Sand Siblings had romantic ties with Konoha ninja, both surprising considering who was involved.

A surprising pair was the Wind Mistress Temari and the Akamichi heir Choji. She was originally dating his teammate Shikamaru, but that relationship didn't bear fruit due to Shikamaru's complete lack of ambition. He also got tired of the constant death threats from her sand wielding little brother, Gaara.

Temari and Choji had gotten acquainted through Shikamaru, but their recent romance came from Choji's mastery of the kitchen. Turns out Temari was a fan for well made food. He even won over Gaara with a spicy meatball recipe. Temari had gotten him to train more and now the formerly pleasantly plump ninja had the build of a grizzly bear.

Kankuro's girlfriend was a bit of a surprise, though they did have much in common. They both used strings and relied on tools for their combat. They got together after spending a lot of time working on new weapon systems on Kankuro's puppets. Seeing Tenten with the puppet master still caused Sakura to shake her head in disbelief, as she always thought that she would get together with her teammate Neji.

Unfortunately, not everyone had the freedom to be with who they wanted. Being a major part of the Hyuuga clan had its downsides as Neji had been put into a political marriage with a prominent noble family from Fire Country that had a bond with their trees. The Hyuuga clan wanted to combine the protective energy fields the Jurai family could generate with their Kaiten. The Jurai clan had given their oldest daughter Ayeka in the marriage.

While both loved others going into the marriage, in time they did gain feelings for one another. Their four kids in five years of marriage was an indication of how they felt for each other. The only reason the purple haired woman wasn't present at the Hokage's office was because she was pregnant with another child.

The last member of team Gai was standing next to the blond kunoichi from team 10, Ino. After Sakura married Naruto, Lee was devastated, but he couldn't bring himself to hate Naruto, they were just too much alike. He had turned his attention to Sakura's best friend Ino, and she actually accepted his invitation for a date.

The fashion conscious young woman had of course given Lee a make-over so he was easier on the eyes. She told him it helped his "flames of youth" to be original. While this probably wouldn't work with anyone else, the way Ino said it had more to do with the change than what she actually said.

They were happy and Ino had just gotten off maternity leave from their first baby, a cute little girl that hadn't inherited her father's eyebrows. Little Yuubi was Lee's pride and joy, but he really needed to stop shouting it out everywhere he went. Naruto was starting to get complaints from citizens about Lee's exuberance. Sakura smiled at the sight of Lee thrusting baby pictures into his stoic teammates face.

The last member of team 10 was also the only person who married someone with no combat background. Shikamaru, true to his stated goals, had married an average woman who came from a middle class family. Typical of the lazy ninja, he said kunoichis were much "too troublesome."

Like Sasuke, Kiba was a bachelor, but unlike the Uchiha survivor, he had the habit of going from one relationship to another. He said he hadn't found the right woman yet. Sakura thought he'd better get ready because the young Hyuuga heiress seemed quite attached to him.

That and her father would Jyuuken Kiba into another era if the dog-boy broke his little girl's heart. Hanabi wasn't present because the Hyuuga council felt that the risk of losing both the Heiress and the clan prodigy in battle was unacceptable.

Hinata was currently keeping Takashi under control as he was used to being in charge. The confidence that radiated in her adopted sister-in-law was a far cry from the timid little girl that followed Naruto around. Being an Uzumaki had truly helped Hinata to stand up for herself.

Sakura watched as Shino was talking with his brother-in-law in a corner. How Inuzuka Hana and Aburame Shino got together, she would never fully understand. All she knew was that it started over a difference of opinions over treatments for fleas and other dog attacking insects.

The only one missing was Sasuke. When asked of his whereabouts, Sakura and Naruto just said he had his mission, and they were sure he would complete it.

Sakura's reminiscing was ended by her husband calling for the group's attention.

"ANBU scouts have confirmed Orochimaru's location about a day away from Konoha," Naruto ignored the reactions of his ninjas and continued on. "Our part in the plan is about to begin. You all know what your roles are. LET'S GO SKIN THAT SNAKE!" He pumped his fist into the air to emphasize his outburst.

The Rokudaime's shout was answered by the louder members of the Twelve. As everyone filed out of the office, Sakura turned to Naruto as he pulled a scroll out of his vest. Her earlier apprehension had returned, though for a different reason.

"Naruto, what if I can't do this? What if I'm not strong enough?"

Calm blue eyes looked at a pair of worried green ones, and the blue had a shine to them that helped to reassure the green. She knew he trusted her and with a nod she told him to continue.

Naruto grinned and opened the scroll and released what was sealed within.

Naruto and Sakura met with the others at the northern gates of the village. In true ninja fashion, the group took off at high speed to where the Snake Sannin was located.

It didn't take long to find Orochimaru's sentries or to quietly silence them forever. The group began to make preparations to do their part of the plan they had made less than a week ago.

* * *

Unfortunately, they weren't the only ones with plans.

Three small forms huddled together as a bloody Uchiha Sasuke was bound in chakra draining chains.

Orochimaru's lips curved into a mirthless smile as he looked on.

* * *

Author's notes:

Sorry for the delay. This was a tough chapter to write, and it took awhile to get things how I wanted. Don't worry, the next chapter will be longer and will contain action, though it may be awhile, as I have finals coming up.

I would like to thank all those who have read and reviewed. I appreciate the feedback. Please let me know what you think about my writing skills.


	4. Execution

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This is just for fun.

Summary: Sequel to Dream Big. Naruto prepares his village and his family for Orochimaru. Future Fic NaruSaku

**Dreams Live On**

Six ninjas, each bearing scratched Grass forehead protectors, were on their way to relieve the sentries from the morning watch. They hadn't been able to find the other team yet, which put all of the new team on edge.

A glint of metal to their right alerted them that something was over in that direction. They arrived at an empty clearing, staying at the edge and hopefully out of sight of anyone in the area. The leader signaled to one of his subordinates to go take a closer look.

A young member of the team went down and slowly made his way to where a kunai was sticking out of the soft soil of the forest. A quick inspection showed that the kunai was from Kumo, where the majority of the morning watch had been from.

Seeing nothing dangerous, he gave the all-clear signal, and the rest of the team appeared by his side. No other sign of the team was present and the leader was about to have them move out when a three-foot tall toad with a naginata slung across his shoulders and wearing a blue silk vest jumped into the clearing.

The former Grass team went into a defensive formation with a few of them facing away from the summoned animal. It was well known that only two shinobi had a contract with the toads, both extremely dangerous. The toad took one step towards the group causing them to collectively take step back.

The orange summon's lips turned upwards in an approximation of a smile. This put everyone in the group on edge, but when the unexpected arrival suddenly disappeared in a puff of smoke, it added caution into the mix.

_'What was that all about?' _was the general train of thought of the group of missing ninja, which were all cut short by the large explosion that erupted from beneath their feet.

**BOOOMM!!!**

* * *

Naruto appeared from behind the Genjutsu Sakura had cast to hide most of the Konoha loyal ninja. Things were going according to plan so far, and most of the enemy camp should be on their way. A grim smile formed on a battle weary face. A ninja he may be, but the Rokudaime never enjoyed killing.

Takashi was with Hinata taking care of securing the east side and anything that tried to escape that way. The west side was covered by Kiba and Choji, and Neji and Lee had rushed around to the north to cut off anyone going that way.

Everyone was in position to ambush hundreds of enemy ninja. The initial surge of eager idiots was caught in genjutsu created by Sakura, Ino and Shikamaru. They had worked out how to combine Sakura's traditional Genjutsu, Ino's mental abilities and Shikamaru's shadows into an impressive illusion that made those caught in it lose all access to their senses.

"**Kaze no Yaiba!"**

Total sensory deprivation really worked great at getting people in place for Temari and Naruto's wind blades to fillet the invaders. The illusion was released after the attacks went in.

The efficiency of the blades could be seen in the form of over a dozen dead shinobi, many bisected by the combined attacks.

The more seasoned and cautious fighters showed up taking defendable positions, which were quickly covered in mini-senbon shot by Kankuro and Tenten's newest creation. This new puppet had the appearance of an ox with a rotating quartet of launcher tubes that reloaded from a supply in the main body.

The mini-senbon launcher itself consisted of a metal tube full of tightly packed senbon needles measuring an inch and a half. A special explosive tags at the bottom

provided thrust. It was designed to take out large amounts on personnel.

"**Soushouryu!"**

The puppet drove the main body into the destroyed clearing, where Tenten's accurate kunai throwing pierced many enemy ninjas. The confused missing ninja didn't even take a closer look at the unusual kunai striking their comrades.

* * *

Around the edges of the battle, five men and one woman were throwing these same unusual kunai at the cowards trying to escape. A solid looking man with a scratched Iwa hitai-ate caught the one aimed at him and noticed the tri-pronged blade. His thick brown eyebrows rose in realization, and he threw the blade away as far as he could.

Any Iwa ninja knew of the special kunai used in the Yondaime's famous Hiraishin. Tanaka Yoshiro wasn't stupid enough to want to face the Hokage that was said to be stronger than a tailed beast. He'd leave that for Orochimaru and his scheming. The Konoha ninja Yoshiro wanted to face was the Hyuuga prodigy, Neji.

He really didn't care about Konoha or Orochimaru, he just wanted to test the Jyuuken taijutsu style against his own. Now all Yoshiro had to do was find the Hyuuga.

* * *

Takashi stood next to his fiancé slicing through the weak guard of another ninja trying to get past. Hinata had already thrown all of Naruto's kunai at the approaching shinobi and was using her unique blend of the Jyuuken and the taijutsu Sakura had trained her in.

Mixing up the different styles of blows gave her a psychological advantage over her opponents since they didn't know if the blow would damage their chakra system or send them flying. Naruto's influence was apparent in her unpredictable combat methods, and Hinata was once again thankful for his influence in her life.

She saw a woman bearing the insignia of Kumo on her damaged hitai-ate charging straight for her with a metal staff trailing behind her. The sparks given off whenever the staff got near the ground told the former Hyuuga that it was electrified.

Hinata glanced at Takashi and noticed he was in a sword duel with man who apparently had a spitting problem. Hinata stood her ground until the Kumo woman was close enough to use her Kaiten, while smaller than Neji's, it was still effective in stopping the electric attack.

Hinata pressed her advantage using a chakra enhanced finger to break the wrist of the hand holding the staff and sent two Jyuuken strikes to her chest, trying to end the fight quickly. Unfortunately, Mitaga Ryuuga was able to use her already disabled arm as a shield to save herself before an electrified fist struck Hinata in the shoulder.

Hinata jumped back to give herself room to use a medic jutsu to return feeling to that side of her body, but Ryuuga didn't give her the time, not letting up with her attacks on the Uzumaki sister.

Both could only use their left arms in the fight, though their attacks were causing serious damage to each other with the blows that made contact. Hinata saw the opportunity to end the battle quickly, so she could help Takashi if it was needed. She just needed to get one good shot to take out the other woman.

The opportunity revealed itself when Ryuuga went to disable her right leg with a lightning strike. Using the speed she had developed training with Naruto, Hinata threw herself into a one handed cartwheel, twisting her legs to deliver a powerful kick to the former Cloud kunoichi's chin.

With Hyuuga and medic ninja chakra control, Hinata focused her chakra into her right heel amplifying the force of the kick catching Ryuuga by surprise and slamming her jaw shut. A sickening crunch told Hinata that her foe was dead.

As feeling began to return to her right side, Hinata managed to perform a medic technique to speed up the process. With full mobility, she looked at Takashi, and saw him standing over a body with a sword in its neck. She nearly screamed at the sight of his defeated opponent's sword coming out of her fiancé's lower abdomen.

After quickly yet gently removing the blade, Hinata turned all her efforts into healing Takashi. Out of the corner of her eye, Hinata saw a blur of yellow, white, and orange. With Naruto watching over her, she could work without fear of interruption.

* * *

Tanaka Yoshiro had started at the southern skirmish and found no trace of hand to hand combat there, so he turned his attention to the east. He did find a Hyuuga there, but the girl wasn't the one he wanted.

As he circled to the North, he heard a male voice cry out,**" Kaiten!" **Yoshiro had found another Hyuuga, hopefully this time it was the clan prodigy.

* * *

Neji had used a Kaiten at half strength to throw a dozen adventurous ninja from the Hidden Waterfall Village into trees and his teammate's powerful punches and kicks. The first Hyuuga to lose the clan's cursed mark smirked at the weakness of his adversaries, a small amount of his old arrogance slipping through.

He had been noticing a powerful chakra source coming his way. He knew this was most likely the S-class ninja from Iwa who, from their intelligence reports, dreamed of facing the Hyuuga style in combat.

This was why he, Hinata, and Takashi had been sent away from the main conflict, to draw away the S-class ninjas into ego-driven one-on-one battles where they could be beaten. The Kumo kunoichi wanted Hinata as a delayed completion of her father's mission to retrieve the Byakugan. For the Mist swordsmen, everyone knew that one of the Fire Country's best samurai was engaged to the Hokage's adopted sister. Neji hoped all was well with his cousin.

Yoshiro saw his desired target standing in an artificial clearing about a hundred yards away. He had studied the Hyuugan style of fighting along with its strengths and weaknesses, so the rogue ninja felt he could defeat the Konoha ninja. Yoshiro's victory depended on overcoming the Byakugan.

Unfortunately he hadn't done that just yet and Neji turned and looked right at his position. Yoshiro grinned and jumped into the pockmarked clearing in his taijutsu stance, ready to attack or defend.

He had barely gotten his feet into position when Neji sped over and delivered a fierce Jyuuken strike towards Yoshiro's heart, aiming for a quick kill. The blow connected and Neji began to wonder how this idiot became an S-class ninja, until he felt a powerful blow to his abdomen send him painfully to the ground.

Neji looked up at Yoshiro in disbelief as another punch was already on its way towards his head. Neji was able to roll away from the incoming attack with little difficulty; Yoshiro's fist didn't have the power behind it that was standard for Lee or Sakura, Neji's usual taijutsu sparring partners.

"Heh, heh, heh, bet you're wondering why I'm still alive?" Yoshiro's voice was full of mockery towards the Hyuuga branch member. "Let me show you my Jari no Yoroi." Small stone fragments streamed out of his clothes as well as the ground, covering his body in a thick cocoon.

Neji looked at the mass of pebbles with his Byakugan and saw that the armor was charged with chakra, making it impossible to see where Yoshiro's chakra points were located. It also meant his Jyuuken strikes would need to be even stronger to just make it through the large barrier.

Yoshiro continued his monologue explaining his strong defense, "As I'm sure you've noticed by now, this armor is charged with my chakra. Your attacks are now useless against me, and because I have trained with this armor for years, my speed and strength aren't seriously impaired. I will have the privilege of being the ninja who killed the great Hyuuga Neji, prodigy of Konoha's strongest clan."

Neji smirked at the rock encased ninja in front of him and saw certain similarities between Yoshiro's words and his own words to Naruto in their match at their first Chunin exams. The exact words might have been different, but the tone and meaning behind them was the same. Neji knew the outcome of this battle would follow the same pattern as the one that changed Neji's life.

Yoshiro grew angry from Neji's silence and charged with his fist drawn back. Neji saw that he had been correct about his speed not suffering by being in the armor, but it still was no where near where Neji was used to fighting. He dodged several attacks with graceful fluidity.

'_I suppose this would be an ideal time to test my new jutsu.' _Neji focused chakra into his hand and began to mold it into a useful form. '_Chakra no Tanken.'_

"Fight me, cowa_erk!" _Yoshiro's words were interrupted by the hand that had plunged into his back. Neji casually removed a chakra covered hand from Yoshiro's now armorless body. He looked at his defeated opponent with disgust.

The Chakra no Tanken or Chakra Dagger was an innovative technique Neji had developed using the principles behind the Chidori and Charkra Scalpel techniques his friends used. It was simply a hand in knife shape covered in a type of chakra used in the common medic ninja technique. It required tremendous chakra control to form a sharp point, but it was quite possible for the Hyuuga genius.

"You shouldn't talk so much in a battle or explain your techniques to an enemy who might see their weakness," Neji's voice was cold and without pity to the vanquished ninja. "Maybe you'll remember that in the next life." Thus Tanaka Yoshiro died a meaningless and largely unremembered death after a similar life.

Neji sighed, looked for his companion and saw that Lee had kept the other ninjas occupied. A quick white and red shadow told Neji that their Hokage had also lent a hand in stopping the enemy from escaping. Everything had been secured on their end.

* * *

Sakura saw the carnage that the forest had become. Three hundred ninjas had been killed or mortally wounded by fifteen powerful ninjas with a superb strategy guiding them. The pink haired medic was trained in the healing of people, but she had been around enough to appreciate that sometimes it was necessary to end lives instead of save them.

She had seen the blurs of color that the Hiraishin created propelling Naruto at incredible speed. Sakura felt the now lessened chakra source that was Uzumaki Naruto. He arrived moments before everyone gathered together, the same question on everyone's mind. Where was Orochimaru?

A giant smoke cloud revealing a huge snake was a pretty good indication that he had decided to show his pale face. As the Konoha ninjas prepared for another battle, a piece of cloth caught Sakura's eye. She focused her gaze on it and her eyes widened.

"Naruto, that's Kora's jacket," she whispered to the blond. His eyes narrowed as he identified the garment. This was what they had been afraid of.

The head of the snake came low and Naruto signaled everyone to be ready but to not attack yet. On the snake's head stood Orochimaru carrying his blade Kusanagi with Kabuto by his side. The Konoha group looked behind them to see three small children bound with chains. Apparently Orochimaru wasn't taking chances with them, given who their father was. Another amy of thugs, ronin, and missing ninja stood ready behind their leader.

"Hello Naruto-kun, I seem to have found something of yours. I'm sure you can guess what I want," Orochimaru, the snake, knowing he couldn't take Naruto in a straight fight took the traditional method of dealing with the stronger fighter by taking a hostage. Naruto's greatest joy in life was being used against him, and everyone knew there was little they could do in this situation.

Naruto took a deep breath and glared at the former Sannin of Konoha, and motioned for his friends to stand down. They needed to buy time for an opportunity to arise so they could rescue the children and kill every enemy between here and Konoha. Patience, they knew was the key to victory here.

As soon as their weapons were on the ground, various ninja came and placed chains on their wrists and ankles, with a connecting chain running between the other two. Once they were restrained, Kabuto sealed their weapons into a scroll. At the questioning stares of the group, Kabuto smiled," I'll be using these in my studies of you and your techniques."

"Yes, Kabuto is going to get me all the secrets you hold, all your jutsu and everything else you can give me," his snake-like eyes looked into Sakura's green orbs, and she could feel chills run across her body. "Your children will also be a part of my experiments, your son in particular. After I take Sasuke's body, your little boy will make a fine vessel." Sakura just glared at the insane man, not daring to say anything.

Orochimaru turned to Naruto and picked up a three-pronged kunai off the ground. "With these kunai and your body, I will finally learn the secrets of the Hiraishin. As much as I loathe your father, he developed some interesting jutsus. I'll enjoy teaching them to your children and using them as my bodyguards." His quiet chuckling even freaked out his own men.

Orochimaru handed the kunai to Kabuto who sealed it with the rest of the weapons. Motioning to two subordinates, Orochimaru had two ninjas with Sound hitai-ate force Naruto to his knees. Orochimaru stared down imperiously at the kneeling Hokage, and roughly grabbed his hair.

"I've learned from our encounters that you have a knack for escaping certain death Naruto-kun. So, I'm taking no chances. Good-bye, _Hokage-sama!" _his voice a snarl at the end, Orochimaru swung his sword and severed Naruto's head from his body.

Sakura stared dumbly at the sight, not fully taking in what has just happened. The body of her love lay on the ground, as it was surrounded by a pool of red. A single tear started the flood of emotions in the now-widowed kunoichi.

"Naruto. NARUTO!! **NOOO!! ****NARUTO!!" **starting as a whisper and growing to scream, the crescendo of her voice broke the others out their own stupor and Ino immediately moved to comfort her best-friend. Hinata just stared in shock as Takashi put his arm around her. At his touch, her body clung to his as much as their confinement allowed, her head buried into his chest.

"Take them to the prison tent, Kabuto. Make sure they can't escape," Orochimaru's glee was apparent in his voice. Turning to the secret force, "The Hokage is dead, and their greatest ninja are our prisoners! The time to destroy Konoha is now! We will overwhelm and decimate their few remaining troops and take everything we want." The ensuing roar of the crowd brought a satisfied smirk to Orochimaru's lips.

As Sakura and the others were led away, the only sounds they made were the muted sobbing of the women and the clanking of chains.

* * *

Okay, remember Kakashi's words, "Look underneath the underneath." Everything is not as it seems.

Thank you for the wonderful reviews to those who have submitted them. They are a big help in writing.

I will work hard to get the next chapter out by next week. No promises though.

Have a Happy New Year!


	5. Release

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This is just for fun.

Summary: Sequel to Dream Big. Naruto prepares his village and his family for Orochimaru. Future Fic NaruSaku

**Dreams Live On**

The soft sobbing of Uzumaki Sakura and the clanking of chains were the only sounds that accompanied thirteen somber ninjas and one giant dog as they were led to a tent designed to contain shinobi.

Seals had been meticulously sewn into the dark red fabric of the portable prison that would harden the material while disperse any chakra used on it. The ground was also affected by these seals, making it impossible to dig through to freedom.

The victory that had just been won only a few minutes before now seemed hollow to the imprisoned ninja. Rock Lee looked at his beautiful wife as she comforted her sorrowing best friend. The usually loud taijutsu specialist felt his flames of life dim at the loss of his dear friend and leader. The first person after Gai-sensei to truly understand him had been taken.

The beautiful green beast of Konoha thought back to the last great loss of his life, the death of his beloved Gai-sensei. An attack by three Akatsuki members forced the first green beast to keep his chakra gates open longer than his body could handle. All the Akatsuki members had died, but Lee still lost the man he idolized and emulated.

It was when Ino made a shrine to her husband's dead sensei that Lee felt able to truly move on. A bronze statue in the family dojo was the centerpiece to the departed Jounin, dressed in a replica of his standard outfit (which Lee washed regularly). It was later that he found out that Naruto was the one to foot the bill for the statue.

Lee let out a loud sigh at the renewed grief at Naruto's death. He wished he could do something to ease Sakura's pain, but words were never his strongpoint. Only Naruto and Ino had the ability to properly translate his enthusiastic shouts.

Ino rubbed her best friend's back as they were led to their prison. The guards, a couple of dirty samurai wannabes, smirked lecherously at the group, their focus on the kunoichis. Ino saw her other half about to attack with one of his furious "shouts of youthful exuberance" to the leering guards when Kabuto opened the flaps for the prison and silently ordered everyone to quietly enter. A shiver went up the blond kunoichi's spine at the killer intent coming off of the traitorous medic ninja as he gestured for them to enter.

After everyone was led in, Ino tensed when Kabuto followed, since he just needed to activate the seals from the outside to prevent their escape. '_Was he already going to begin his abominable experiments on them?'_ The mind bending woman held her grieving friend closer as that terrifying thought swept her own mind.

As the grey-haired former Konoha Ninja activated one seal on the walls of the tent Sakura pushed away from her friend and made what Ino thought was a short dash at the accomplice to the killer of the Chief Medic's husband. Due to the chains they were all wearing, the dash was barely above a quick walk. Lee moved to his wife's side, ready and waiting to defend Sakura from whatever insane experiments Kabuto might perform.

When Kabuto caught their friend's wrist, Lee started moving to protect his friend, concerned only with her safety. Concern quickly turned to shock as they saw him unlock Sakura's chains. Jaws hit the floor when he enveloped her in a hug. Their eyes bugged out when she reciprocated. Confusion and disbelief was apparent on everyone's faces. Hey, it's not everyday that your dear friend hugged one of your Village's most despised traitors.

Ino felt betrayed at seeing her friend taking comfort from a crazed maniac. She saw that Kabuto was saying something to Sakura, but she couldn't make out what he was saying.

* * *

"I am so sorry you had to go through that, Sakura-hime. If there had been another way, we would have done it," Kabuto's voice held great concern and care for the woman in his arms. 

Sakura, still hugging him tightly, whispered in a shaky voice, "Can you change back now? I need to see the real you." Tears were flowing freely down her already tear-stained face. She felt him nod and took a step back.

When Kabuto's skin subtly tanned and he grew an extra inch the group felt slightly shocked. That freaked out feeling jumped to full out confusion and shock as "Kabuto's" silver hair melted into a bright gold, complimented with deep blue eyes and six faded whisker-like marks on his cheeks.

**"What the #$ & $& is going on?! We just saw you die.!!!!"** Kiba's voice would have carried to the whole camp if the silencing seal wasn't already activated.

Naruto had the grace to look sheepish as he removed Kabuto's glasses from his face. Everyone was somewhere between relief, fury, and indifference (from Shikamaru) at seeing Konoha's number one most surprising ninja alive and well after they had just seen his lose his head. The whiskered blond gave them a sorrowful smile.

"I needed a way to get Orochimaru to let his guard down long enough for me take him out. Having him kill me and seeing my dead body was the only way for that to happen. No offence but most of you aren't good enough actors to fool Orochimaru," many people were nodding in understanding at this.

Some were not so forgiving, "But what about Sakura or Hinata? They nearly lost it when you 'died'," Ino made quotation marks with her fingers as she interrogated her Hokage. "It wasn't fair to make them think you were dead."

Naruto smile became more relaxed as he looked at the two women he was closest to. Starting with his fellow loudmouth blond, Naruto began unlocking everyone's chains as he talked. "You're right, it wouldn't be fair. That's why both of them were in on my plan. I'm not the fool I used to be, Ino. Sakura's known from the start about this, and she informed Hinata before the attack started this morning."

Takashi looked puzzled, "When did she do that? I never left Hinata-chan's side and I didn't hear anything about this."

Hinata looked at him and blushed slightly, "There are still some things about the Uzumaki clan that you haven't learned yet, Takashi-kun. I'll tell you after we're married. Please don't be mad."

"I'm more confused than mad Hinata-chan. I'm still trying to figure out how Naruto-sama survived having his head chopped off," the samurai still wasn't completely used to the finer points of shinobi tactics. His experience with ninja was largely combat related where his instincts and sword skills were able to handle most threats.

Naruto looked at his future brother-in-law and then at the rest, most of whom had already put most of the pieces together. "Simple Takashi-san, I used a bushin."

His statement was met with silence. They had never heard of any kind of bushin that could be decapitated and not dissolve into its original materials.

"Okay, you gotta explain what kind of bushin that was Naruto. What kinda bushin stays intact after its head's been cut off?" Kankuro asked the question on almost everybody's mind.

Naruto answered readily, knowing his precious friends needed something, "One of my personal creations, the **Gogyou Bushin, the Five Elements Clone**. It is a mixture of the rock clone, the sand clone, the water clone, the mud clone, and the shadow clone. Sakura and I were able to combine our two specialties to make the ultimate clone. By layering the first four clone elements we gave the clone structure and a chakra system from kage bushin created an artificial body that could hold up to half of my chakra. That's why he was able to do all my jutsus.

"The stone became the skeleton, sand formed the muscles and organs, water was mixed with a little blood to accurately copy that part of my body, and the mud made a good skin. Sakura monitored the body systems and made corrections when needed. As my personal medic **_and_** my wife, she knows my body better than anyone."

Sakura blushed at the impish looks several people shot her way. Naruto spoke to turn their attention back him and off of his embarrassed love.

"The advantages are obvious; a working replica of myself that can fight at a level most Jounin couldn't match. I also can learn everything it has experienced anytime by having it send the knowledge to me like when my kage bushins are dispelled, though the **Gogyou Bushin **doesn't need to be dispelled to do it.

"The disadvantages are that I can only do it with Sakura, since she's the only one who could make sure everything is working perfectly. It took a lot of practice to get this right. The time required to put all this together is huge compared to any other bushin. We needed almost an entire day to get it made right.

"On top of the massive chakra requirements just to form it, I need to charge the **Gogyou Bushin** with chakra so it can do anything. Once its body runs out of chakra it will go back to the original stuff I used to make it. That's why it didn't dissolve on front of you guys; it still had some chakra in it, even after the battle."

Shikamaru looked at his most troublesome friend and was thinking about when Naruto must have made the switch. During or after the battle was out of the question, since Naruto wouldn't have been able to take over Kabuto's identity in that time to fool Orochimaru. It would have to have been before the battle, and given that Naruto's plan was based off the fact that his new clone wouldn't dispel with its stored chakra, Naruto would have to have switched right after the meeting that morning.

The lazy shadow user looked at what Naruto was wearing and realized that he was still in Kabuto's clothes. Shikamaru guessed that however Naruto made himself look like Kabuto only affected his body, but where did the clothes come from? "Naruto, what happened to the real Kabuto? If you've captured him, we can use the information he has."

"Yeah and why do you smell like him? Even Henge doesn't change your scent. Akamaru and I both smelled just Kabuto's scent on you," Kiba's loud question was accompanied by his large hound's barks.

Naruto's eyes hardened at the mention of the man he had impersonated, "I'll explain that later, when I've got Orochimaru where I want him. This isn't over yet." Bearing a big foxy grin, the Rokudaime pulled out two scrolls from his belt, "Now, who'd like some weapons?"

After the confiscated weapons had been returned to their proper owners, Naruto pulled out a bag of soldier pills and gave one to everyone to replenish their chakra supplies. He also activated the other scroll he brought out, revealing fifteen egg-shaped crystals that had a bluish tint to them with flecks of silver scattered inside.

Shino looked at the blue crystal egg thing in his hand skeptically, _'What is this? My residents can feel the chakra in it, but they don't want to even try and devour it. Naruto must have made these with his unique chakra.'_ Shino was pulled from his thoughts as he heard Naruto call the group together.

"I placed a seal inside of Orochimaru's tent this morning. We can use **Hiraishin** to get there before the snake can escape. When we appear, everyone fan out into a circle and face outwards channeling chakra into the crystals. I'll handle the rest," Naruto gave these last minute instructions hastily, showing his impatience and eagerness for the conflict ahead.

"**Hiraishin no Jutsu!"**

After calling out his father's famous technique, Naruto vanished with all his friends in tow.

* * *

Orochimaru felt downtight giddy at the moment: he'd killed the biggest thorn in his side, had kidnapped said thorn's children with plans of using them as his personal tools, and he had Uchiha Sasuke back in his possession. The cursed mark had been removed, but it was a simple matter to reapply the seal, making Sasuke's body more prepared for the **Fushi Tensei** (Living Corpse Reincarnation). 

With the strength the Uchiha possessed, Orochimaru was sure that he would be able to enjoy the Sharingan's ability to copy jutsus for many years. A sinister smirk showed the pale excuse for a human being's perverse joy at having Uzumaki's son as a substitute host should the need ever arise. With the extreme stamina inherited from his father coupled with the medic ninja training from his mother, young Arashi would make an excellent bodyguard and eventual new host body.

Thinking of the one who would eventually complete that medical training, Orochimaru's lips twisted into a frown. _'Kabuto should have returned by now. He knows that he can have all the fun he wants dissecting the prisoners **after** we destroy Konoha. Kakashi is still loose, along with my geriatric teammates, and they have plenty of ninjas who can handle this squabble I managed to collect.'_

A flare of chakra was all the warning the feminine male ninja had before his spacious tent was filled with his "prisoners" along with the Hokage he had beheaded not ten minutes ago. Fear filled his eyes as Orochimaru saw the dangerous glint in the blond man's piercing blue eyes.

The cornered Snake tried to make a run for it, but a bluish cocoon had already surrounded him, trapping him with over a dozen people who wanted him dead. Leaping to attack the person closest to him, the Daimyo's nephew if he wasn't mistaken, Orochimaru's golden eyes widened in shock. He couldn't move his body! Having experienced Nara family's trapping technique; Orochimaru knew his immobility wasn't because of Shikamaru. _'Then why can't I move?'

* * *

_

Naruto looked at the frozen ninja with grim satisfaction. This cocoon was a ninjutsu based off of Tsukuyomi, except this world was very real. They were all now inside a pocket dimension that functioned like his mindscape. A thought was all that was needed to end this now, but Naruto had made prior arrangements. Orochimaru's captured body moved like one of Kankuro's puppets until it was in front of Naruto.

"We are now in my world, _Hebi-chan_. In here, my thoughts are reality," Naruto's sing-song tone was betrayed by the deadly look in his eyes. "Before we get to the part where you meet the Shinigami (Death God), I want you to see what really has been going on for the last day of your life." Naruto looked at his astonished friends, "This will be as much to let everyone in on what happened as well as to taunt the crazy snake. You can put the crystals down; I've got it from here."

After everyone put down their crystals, they noticed that the cocoon had vanished, replaced by a large grassy plain. Flowers began blooming rapidly around their feet, a rainbow's worth of colors decorating the ground. Ino in particular was interested in the types popping up, noting that some of these flowers wouldn't grow in a field like this. She wondered idly if she could take some home for her family's shop.

"Now, why doesn't everyone take a seat," Naruto's words were met with some confusion until chairs seemed to sprout like the colorful flowers, and in a variety of colors themselves.

Ino looked at a pair of chairs and then at her grinning husband, then turning to Naruto asked, "Hey Naruto, can you make us a love seat over here? And make it rose colored, would you." Being a master of the mind gave Ino an idea of what Naruto could do here, and she figured if she could cuddle with her husband while Naruto spilled the proverbial beans, well that was bonus.

Naruto looked at his mindscape teacher and complied with her "request." It really was easy to create what she wanted, but Naruto wished she would have asked with a little more respect (he was still Hokage after all). Then remembering how he treated his superiors when he was a kid, Naruto guessed that would be a little hypocritical.

Once everyone was settled, Naruto encased Orochimaru in a column of black stone. That would make it easier to talk and have a little fun before his "friend" arrived. The now imprisoned enemy of Konoha took stock of his situation and decided to wait and watch for an opening (not like he had much choice with only his head visible over his stony confinement).

Naruto stretched and looked over at Sasuke and the kids, and a thought was all he needed to make their chains disappear. Once that was done, he started his little speech, "First off, you should all know that those three over there are not my kids. I would never put my children in any danger if I could help it." A dramatic wave of his hand and the Haruka, Arashi, and Kora standing there melted into Tsunade, Jiraiya, and Anko. "I thought they deserved to be present when Orochimaru got his due, so they were the first I asked to act as decoys to lure the Hebi over there to where we could get him."

Anko snorted, "More like we were bait for a deranged hermaphrodite."

Jiraiya bit back a laugh at the name Anko had called her former sensei. He glanced at Tsunade and whispered quietly, "I always thought he was defined as 'androgynous'."

Sasuke kept his usual stoic face because it would not be dignified to burst out laughing in the middle of an execution. Even if the comments made were accurate. He didn't want to spoil his image after all.

Tsunade just shook her head in exasperation. _'I know that for the last few days we were acting like kids, but they act like this all the time. Though . . . I would say he's more androgynous than hermaphroditic.' _The retired Godaime felt twitch in her lips thinking of the feared Orochimaru as an asexual entity.

"AHEM!!" Naruto had been waiting for this moment for years, and they were on the clock. Now that the cocoon was up, his "friend" would be on his way, and Naruto really wanted to rub his victory in Orochimaru's face. A bit childish, yes, but Naruto felt he'd earned the right to gloat a bit.

"Now back to my gloat- er, explanation of what just happened. I switched with the advanced clone this morning right before Sakura and I left the Hokage Office. I then used Sasuke's chakra signature to teleport near Orochimaru's camp. I transformed into a missing ninja and infiltrated the camp . . ."

Orochimaru indignantly interrupted, "Impossible! I would have sensed you even through the most advanced Henge technique!" His pale face showing his disbelief and fury at the thought that _Naruto_ could sneak into his camp undetected. His colossal chakra signature alone should have given away his presence.

"I've grown in many ways, thanks to my friends. Finding a way to sneak into a camp full of missing ninja and secretly replace your second-in-command wasn't as hard as sneaking food off of Neji's or Sasuke's plates at dinner," Naruto shrugged at the angry expressions his friends with doujutsu were shooting him.

It was actually great stealth and speed training to snatch food from guys that had special eyes. Naruto had worked his way up from Kiba (who was very easy to distract) to Shino (bottle of insect pheromones was all it took) all the way to his most uptight and cautious friends (ventriloquism was a handy skill for a ninja).

Naruto continued with his explanation of events, "I changed my appearance using a seal that can physically alter the body, just like I did to make those three look like my kids. I also had to put another seal on their clothes so they didn't rip them off when they went back to their older selves"

Some grumbling was heard from all three of the decoys. Naruto just leveled a glare in their direction to stop their belly aching.

As he was about to up talking again, Naruto sensed a presence getting very close. _'Dang, I hoped to have at least another minute to do this. Oh well, can't be helped.'_ Naruto looked over towards a certain patch of the field, confusing everyone present, except for Sakura, who suddenly found it hard to breathe.

They all noticed the air begin to get heavy and cold. Naruto sighed and Orochimaru (the closest person to him) heard him mumble under his breath about a "showoff". Orochimaru wondered who could be worse of a showoff than Naruto, the original class clown. Orochimaru hoped to use the appearance of this mystery guest as a distraction to summon his sword, Kusanagi.

This plan however was doomed to failure when he noticed the ghostly form taking shape two feet behind Naurto. If there had been any color in his face, it would be gone now. The demonic appearance of this phantom was easily recognizable to the Snake Sannin. He had, after all, seen it once before in Konoha while fighting his own sensei.

If the Shinigami was here then his chances of escape just went from microscopic to absolute zero. Apparently the Uzumaki brat had made a deal with Death, and Orochimaru knew he wouldn't get off as easily as when Sarutobi-sensei used the **Shiki Fuujin (Dead Demon Consuming Seal)**.

Naruto turned and nodded at his "friend." This would be the third time that Naruto had met the Shinigami; the first being when the Shinigami sealed Kyuubi inside of him on his birthday and the second being the first time Naruto created the cocoon. During that second meeting a deal was struck between them, and now the Shinigami was going to fulfill his part.

"I am here Uzumaki Naruto. Where are the ones you want me to get rid of for you?" the Shinigami's voice was impressive and pressed down on the minds of everyone who listened, though Naruto gave no sign of it.

Naruto looked at his guest and then at his friends, and he noted that none of them had yet to shake the Shinigami's deathly aura. He sighed, "Would you like to get out of your uniform, Shinigami-san?"

The massive purple face looked at the first person to negotiate a reasonable deal with him in all his years on the job. "That would be great; it gets awfully stuffy in here. And I thought I told you to call me Ed."

Several of the Konoha ninja fell out of their seats at the casual sounding tone and wording of the fearsome Death God.

Sakura was still having trouble breathing. When her husband told her he'd made a deal with the Shinigami, all she could think about was the Yondaime. When he had used the Shinigami's aid in sealing the Kyuubi inside Naruto, the Fourth, with the best of intentions, left his son alone. Would her children lose their father like Naruto lost his? Could she go on without the man who completed her?

They all looked on as a ten foot tall coat rack grew from the field. Naruto was understandably amused by everyone's shocked expression as the Shinigami grabbed the sides of his head and removed the purple faced, white haired mask that covered his rather normal human face. It clearly stunned all present except Naruto, who had seen the Shinigami without his "uniform."

The Shinigami, a.k.a. Ed, was a tall man with black hair and looked like the Sumo wrestlers seen in larger villages. Though instead of fat, thick muscles covered most of his body, giving him a very strong look. He was dressed in a simple white shirt and light green shorts. The part that disturbed the ninjas the most was the happy expression he wore.

"Ah much better. Feels good to just relax every now and then, ya know? Man, it's all work when you're in charge of the afterlife," Ed stretched his arms over his head and let out a grunt of release. While still large, the feared Shinigami was now much more normal in his looks and speech.

Orochimaru seemed as flabbergasted as the group from Konoha. This guy was the one who helped seal the mighty Nine Tailed Fox and took his arms? His pale face showed the confusion at the new information being presented to him.

The Shinigami saw the column of stone holding Orochimaru in place. His eyes narrowed, "So you're the one who's been giving me such a headache the past few decades. That immortality technique of yours has more than doubled my paperwork! And when you summoned not one but **_two_** dead souls to fight in the living world, well, that just threw everything off. I am going to expose you to levels of Hell mortals don't even know exist."

After his little rant the Shinigami looked back at Naruto, "Wasn't there something else you asked me to get off your hands, boy?"

Naruto felt an eyebrow twitch and took a deep calming breath. Staring Death straight in the eye, the proud Rokudaime simply said, "Yeah." He looked at the ground between himself and Ed and a cage about waist high and about twice as long melted out on the ground. A small red fox stalked back and forth inside the iron cage.

Ed looked surprised. "Is that the Kyuubi?"

Naruto nodded.

"I remember him being . . . bigger."

The fox growled at the blond man, "So you finally decided to bring me out. Do you want to gloat, or some other nonesense?"

Naruto crouched in front of the cage, "No fuzzball, I am finally getting rid of you. The Shinigami here is going to send you to wherever demons like you live, and I think we'll both be glad to see your 'residency' here come to an end."

The fox looked at Ed and could feel the aura of the being who helped the Yondaime seal him inside his disgustingly happy host. The temperamental demon just gave a nod and the cage evaporated around it. Before he could do anything, a collar and leash formed around his neck, with Ed at the other end.

The column with Orochimaru inside just lifted off the ground and settled next to the burly Shinigami. With a sigh Ed looked at Naruto, "Well, guess I ought to get these two where they need to be." His jovial face quickly changed to serious and Naruto could feel Ed's powerful aura pressing down on him. "Remember your promise Uzumaki. I've kept my part of this bargain; I'll be waiting."

Then the Shinigami, Orochimaru, the Kyuubi, and the Shinigami's discarded clothes shimmered out of sight.

After they were gone, Naruto took off his hitai-ate and removed a smooth blue stone stuck to his forehead. "Shikamaru, here's the info you wanted from Kabuto, all his memories." Flipping the flat stone like a coin, Shikamaru barely had time to catch it. "I don't advise you to put it on right now, the initial surge would make things difficult once we go and take care of the group outside."

Several looked embarrassed for some reason having forgotten about the army that was outside the tent, and everyone stood up and took a moment to prepare for another fight. Once everyone looked ready, the field they were standing on faded back to Orochimaru's tent. Naruto took a deep breath and the others could see the focus in his eyes sharpen.

"Let's go."

* * *

They were battle hardened ninja ready to take out a few hundred of the worst scum the Elemental Countries could create. They were armed to the teeth with weapons and techniques that were all designed to annihilate their opponents. 

The battle was already over.

Hatake Kakashi, Copy Ninja of Konoha, approached his former students. "Sorry about not waiting for you, but you know how kids are these days: no patience. When they saw that there were only low level missing ninja, thugs, and bandits, they got anxious to prove themselves."

Seeing Naruto wearing a shocked expression, Kakashi asked, "What's wrong Naruto? Surprised that I can be early for something?"

Naruto shook himself and grinned, "Nope, but I'm sure that's the first you ever gave me an excuse for being early. Usually you don't say anything."

Kakashi's visible eye showed his version of a smile, "I thought it would be a nice change of pace. Anyway after the initial barrage of kunai, we used smoke bombs, taijustu and a couple of Katon (Fire Release) jutsus to get the rest to surrender. The interrogation squad will have some new people to work on. We suffered no casualties."

Naruto started to laugh. It began as a nervous chuckle to let go of the tension of the past week. It quickly grew into a full belly laugh, happy to have all his people alive and well. The laughter was contagious, causing the rest of the Konoha Twelve, a couple of retired Sannin, and one sadistic Jounin to join their Hokage.

"Oh, that felt good," Naruto let out a happy sigh, and then looked at his friends and family. "We need to go have a party to celebrate. Orochimaru and the Kyuubi are both gone for good, and I think everybody could use a party after today. I'll pay."

Cheering was the response he got from everyone except Sakura. Sakura just hugged her husband and he reciprocated. This battle was over, and they would sleep much better tonight knowing that a certain Snake was gone. They heard the cheers and shouts around them, but that didn't stop them from enjoying their moment.

The blue eyed Hokage looked at the green orbs of his wife and tenderly whispered, "Let's go get the kids and go home." Nothing sounded better to the emotionally drained woman.

* * *

Author's Note: Whew! Finally done. I have been working on this chapter for weeks, trying to get it the way I wanted. There is still one more chapter, a bit of an epilogue. Thanks for reading and please review and tell me what you think. 


	6. Recompense

Disclaimer: I don't own Naruto. This is just for fun.

Summary: Sequel to Dream Big. Naruto prepares his village and his family for Orochimaru. Future Fic NaruSaku

**Dreams Live On**

_Timeskip: 100 years after defeat of Orochimaru, Uzumaki residence_

Sitting by the bedside of his dear wife, Uzumaki Naruto could be seen gazing at her now wrinkled face. Her gray hair lay limply on the large, white pillow supporting her head, as she looked right back at him.

"It's time, Naruto. You still have to keep your deal with Ed, you know," Sakura's green eyes held tears as she told her love that the inevitable had come. She trembled under the thin floral print sheet that covered her withered body.

The former Hokage smiled sadly at the woman who had been his constant companion for over a hundred years of life. Due to the constant mingling of their chakra, Sakura had lived an extremely long life, and she might have lived longer if a lung disease hadn't sapped her strength.

"Don't worry so much, Sakura. If I had known you'd worry this much about it, I might not have said anyting."

"Well, we have Kiba to thank for that. He was the only one tactless enough to actually ask you about it."

With the turn of conversation, memories of a much happier day visited the aged pair.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Konoha two days after Orochimaru's death_

_Naruto looked over his Village and smiled. Using his considerable lung capacity (and a special Wind Jutsu), the Hokage's voice carried to almost all the villagers; "Welcome everyone to this celebration of the defeat of our old enemy, Orochimaru. If you're expecting a rousing speech, well tough, I want to have fun, so LET'S GET THIS PARTY STARTED!!" _

_Music started playing through numerous speakers set up throughout the Village, so everyone could join the festivities wherever they were. Food and drink were freely passed around as the villagers got into the spirit of the occasion._

_Inuzuka Kiba made his way to Naruto and poked him in the shoulder. Naruto's face showed his confusion as Kiba motioned for him to follow the beastly ninja to a quieter, more private location. _

_"So Kiba, there a reason you dragged me over here? And it better not be because you're scared to talk to Hiashi about Hanabi." Naruto's annoyance at being away from the party showed in his voice. _

_"What? No, man, that's got nothing to do with this . . . why, is he looking for me?" Kiba's eyes grew wide at the thought of facing the Hyuuga clan head. Kiba shook himself and asked his original question. "Naruto, buddy, I got this feeling that the way we took Orochimaru down was too easy. Once you caught him in that cocoon thing, he couldn't do anything. Just seems like he's going to pop up at any second, ya know?"_

_Naruto looked at the ground and picked up a couple pieces of wood off the ground. He looked at his Inuzuka friend, "Kiba watch closely, I'm only going to show you this once."_

_Naruto held out his empty right hand palm up and with a bit of concentration had it producing flames of chakra. "This represents my raw power, strong and chaotic. It flows everywhere without direction and much of it is wasted." He held a one piece of wood over the chakra flames and after a few seconds, Kiba could see it begin to smolder and blacken with heat. "Now this is what happens when I focus my power to a single point." All the blue flames dancing around his hand flowed to the tip of his index finger and turned into a single solid white flame. The second piece of wood was retrieved from under Naruto's armpit and he slowly brought it closer to the white chakra fire on his fingertip, where it promptly ignited and turned to dust in Naruto's hand._

_Kiba just watched the demonstration and looked at his old buddy and could only shrug and wonder what the point of it all was._

_Naruto was downcast that Kiba wasn't amazed by the little show. 'I got a much better reaction from the Academy students when I did that.' The Rokudaime sighed and rubbed the bridge of his nose, "Kiba, do you know how long it took me make that cocoon?"_

"_Um . . . no."_

_"Five years, with kage bushins to help speed up the process. Before that I was training with Shikamaru, Ino, and Sakura to get my brain up to where my body was. You'd be surprised what a stubborn will and a focused mind can do. It took ten years of training, planning, and trial and error to beat Orochimaru. I wouldn't call that easy Kiba."_

_Kiba grinned sheepishly, "Guess ya got a point there, man, but you have to admit that it seemed a bit too easy at the end."_

_Naruto looked at Kiba with a smug grin on his face. "Well, that's what happens when great preparation meets excellent execution- an easy finish. That's one of the things I learned during my training with Shikamaru. He's beaten opponents stronger than he is through tactics and preparations, and I have a lot more toys and jutsus to work with than he ever did."_

_Kiba seemed to remember something at this point and Naruto could see the curious gleam in his eye, "What was the deal that the Shinigami mentioned? Do you have to give up your soul like your Dad did?"_

_"No Kiba, that wasn't the deal. You don't need to worry; I'll still be alive and kicking tail long after you're six feet under."_

_"So what is it then, come on, you can't just keep this to yourself. Everyone there wants to know what kind of deal you made," Kiba's curiosity grew with his friend's evasion._

_"I'll tell everyone tomorrow at my house. Spread the word, I don't want this repeated after tomorrow. It might cause problems if this got out. Now, if you're satisfied, I have a party going and a beautiful woman to dance with." Naruto turned and quickly walked away from Kiba and the stupefied expression on his face._

_End Flashback

* * *

_

"That's right, you missed seeing Temari and Kankuro's reaction to the picture we took of Gaara and Kora," Sakura said with a genuine smile. It had been worth nearly getting killed by Gaara to take that particular photo.

* * *

_Flashback_

_Sakura watched as Naruto was led away by Kiba for who-knows-what, and turned back to her conversation with Temari and Kankuro. "When Naruto and I went to pick the kids up from Gaara yesterday, we found this little scene." Sakura pulled a photograph from her vest pocket and showed it to the older two Sand Siblings._

_Their reactions were as expected. After the initial jaw dropping, Temari started giggling insanely and Kankuro fell over clutching his sides in laughter. The picture in Sakura's hand showed the feared Kazekage in his official robes giving three year old Kora a horsy ride. _

_"Ga-Gaara actually did that?" Temari's disbelief and mirth colored her voice as the fan-wielding woman struggled to control herself. Kankuro was getting off of the ground, but he still had tears running down his face from laughing so hard._

_"Yep, and Sasame said that he was enjoying his time with the kids since we sent them the messenger bird saying they could unseal them from the stasis scrolls," Sakura sighed when she remembered how Naruto had exhausted himself with the cocoon and couldn't make the trip to Suna. Knowing how much Gaara and Sasame loved the kids, she sent the all clear to Gaara._

_Temari looked a bit freaked. "The idea of sealing your kids away and storing them in Gaara's sand just creeps me out. How do you handle stuff like that?"_

_"I married Naruto."_

_"Oh, right."_

_Kankuro lost it again and was nearly trampled by a score of academy students on a sugar high._

_End Flashback

* * *

_

Naruto sighed. He had really wanted to see their reaction. Though he had to say that thexplanation he gave to their friends the next day got an even better, if different, reaction.

* * *

_Flashback_

_In a special chakra shielded room in the Uzumaki residence, eighteen people had gathered to hear just what deal their crazy friend had made with the incarnation of Death. _

_"So, what would you like to have explained first?" Naruto's question was met with hot glares from most of them, but cooler heads were able to get the question out._

_"The deal, Naruto, we want to know about the deal you made with the Shinigami," Shino said._

_After taking a deep breath, Naruto began, "In a nutshell, the deal was that Ed would release the first four Hokages, and in exchange, I am bound to 10,000 years of service to Ed."_

_That shocker gave Naruto five seconds of silence before he was bombarded with questions. Unable to distinguish one person from another, Naruto called for quiet._

_"But Naruto, what's that got to do with Orochimaru and Kyuubi?" Ino asked._

_"Oh, Orochimaru was sort of a discount I guess. By delivering him to Ed **alive **(I could have killed him easily inside of the cocoon), I got a thousand years taken off. It really ticked Ed off that Orochimaru kept dodging him. Kyuubi was just a bonus Ed threw in," Naruto said. He chuckled and thought, 'That's why you shouldn't mess with Death.'_

_"So when does this deal start?" Shikamaru asked._

_Naruto face turned solemn and he looked at one particular face in the crowd. "When Sakura dies. Ed respected me enough to let me be with her until then."_

_"But why would a Shinigami even want you? No offense, but you'd think they're strong enough on their own that wouldn't need a human servant," Shikamaru said. Something wasn't adding up with Naruto's story and the shadow-user hated when he couldn't figure something out._

_Naruto laughed at that and scratched the back of his head sheepishly. 'I guess it does sound a little farfetched if you don't know I'm practically immortal and could take down anything short of an elemental incarnation if I went all out,' Naruto thought. Out loud he told them, "On top of being very powerful, Ed's got lots of servants that take care of most of the work and he's largely an administrator. Shinigami like Ed and his servants prefer to overpower their targets like I did when I was a gennin. They are very powerful, but they lack in terms of stealth and deception. I have learned to move undetected in insane situations, and that's part of why Ed wants me."_

_He had barely finished speaking when Sakura jumped at him and started crying into his chest. Naruto just held her and let her release the emotions she'd been holding in ever since he had told her that he had made a deal with the Shinigami. _

_Their friends looked at each other and decided to give them some time to themselves. While the answers they'd gotten weren't a hundred percent satisfactory, they would do for now._

_End Flashback

* * *

_

Of course that meeting had prompted Sakura to work with Ino to develop a certain jutsu to help with pregnancy, and the husband's understanding of it. That decision literally gave birth to their younger Sarutobi, to honor the Third Hokage. It also helped Sakura to come to a better understanding with her husband about not telling his wife about deals with powerful entities that could rip your soul out.

Speaking of which, Sakura could feel her heartbeats slow bit by bit. An educated guess gave her less than five more minutes of life. Her breathing was getting more difficult, a sign of the disease, and her vision had started blurring. The love of her life was still there, and though she could feel his warm hands in her cooling ones, she could just barely make out those wonderful blue eyes. Sakura stared intently at his face, and as the darkness crept across her vision, she whispered, "I'll miss you."

"Me, too."

"Do you know what's like? Is it like traveling through dimensions like when you had to rescue the kids and me off those alternate worlds? Is that what dying's like?" her voice was quiet and strained with effort.

"I honestly don't know. The closest Death has come to touching me was when Ed sealed the Kyuubi in me." Naruto used his thumb to move a strand of hair out her eyes so his view wasn't obstructed. "Ed hasn't told me much on about the actual dying process, just what he wants me to do when I get there."

Sakura smiled and nodded and squeezed his hand lightly. Her time was up, and she felt her heart stop beating. Her eyes never left Naruto's. He saw the light in his wife's eyes fade and darken. The limp hand he held also told him that she was gone.

A lone tear fell from his eye, and he remembered the last time he had cried in pain, the funeral for his youngest daughter Tsunade. "I didn't think it would hurt this much to see her die. Now I know how she felt when that old Snake killed the clone." He gently placed her hand on her still form and pulled a scroll out from under the bed.

_'Heh, this trick should still work since I haven't used it in so long.'_ Out of the scroll came a perfect replica of Naruto's body, with the exception of it being dead. It's purpose was to give the village some closure, so no one would wonder what happened to the body of a former Hokage. _'Well, time to go.'_

Naruto closed his eyes and the genjutsu seal he had been using for decades was released, and a young and fit Uzumaki Naruto uncurled from his bent posture and stretched. Smiling one last time at Sakura's body, he formed a seal and faded from sight.

* * *

Sakura looked around the new and strangely familiar place where she now stood. She remembered watching Naruto and feeling her heart stop, then she was here. She now stood in front of a mansion that seemed a lot like the house Naruto had built when she agreed to marry him, except that this was much bigger and grander than that comfortable home. 

The recently departed woman studied her surroundings and saw that everything was bright and cheerful. _'Kind of like Naruto.'_ That thought brought a smile to her face, since she knew that they would be together again. They had many conversations on the subject of the afterlife, and from Naruto's experience hopping through dimensions to find his family he knew that it was just another plane of existance that he could find if he needed to.

"Hey beautiful, how are you doing?" a familiar voice called from behind her. Sakura spun quickly around and saw her husband looking just as young and handsome as when they were married. Standing behind him was the still imposing form of Ed without his Shimigami robes. Sakura wondered if this all wasn't some cruel cosmic joke some deity wanted to play on her.

Naruto walked up to the spirit form of his dead wife and moved a hand through her shoulder. _'Guess it'll take some time for her physical body to make the transition.'_

Sakura was now sporting a very spooked expression as Naruto had apparently moved his hand through her body. What was going on here?!

"Don't worry Sakura, I was just checking to see if your physical body had crossed over, but it seems that we'll have a bit of a wait. Just so you don't worry, this is the afterlife and that is our new house behind you," Naruto said.

Sakura calmed down a bit at that, but still looked a bit unsure. She turned back to the house and saw several familiar people exiting the building. Her family and friends that had died were here, and looking like they did in their prime. More confusion was evident on here face as a young man who she assumed to be her son Arashi spoke up.

"Hiya Mom, we thought we'd have a 'Welcome to the Afterlife' party for you to celebrate the family finally all being here. Though Dad has to go tomorrow to report for missions, we'll help you with any questions you might have," the near carbon-copy of his dad said.

Sakura looked at Naruto and asked quietly, "Is this real?"

"Very real. Don't worry Sakura-hime, this is just a new beginning for us." With a wave of his arm, Naruto motioned for her to go to the house. He saw her emerald eyes shining as they walked to a new future.

* * *

A/N: Well that's it for Dreams Live On. I'd like to thank all my reviewers for their encouragment and help. This was my first multi-chapter story and I hope it has been as enjoyable for the readers as its been for me.

I hope to continue writing an trying new things. This isn't the end of the Dream universe, and there are plenty of other stories to write.

Please tell me what you think.


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